Daniel Hall
Encyclopedia
Daniel Hall is a fictional character
in the Sandman comic book
series written by Neil Gaiman
and published by DC Comics
. An infant for the majority of the Sandman series, he is the son of Hippolyta 'Lyta' Hall
and Hector Hall
, borne for two years in the Dreaming
(where the Halls were being held prisoner by Brute and Glob, two nightmares who had escaped during Dream
's earthly exile). Hector Hall was a perennial DC character, son of Carter Hall
(the Golden Age Hawkman
), and has assumed many guises during his stay in the DC Universe, and was at one point the Sandman
and hence he inherited the same identity in Gaiman's Sandman. Lyta was the daughter of the Golden Age Wonder Woman
and once a superheroine called the Fury
. Daniel, at the end of the Sandman series, becomes the new Dream of the Endless after the demise of his predecessor.
, for two years. Upon Dream's return to the Dreaming, he went looking for Brute and Glob and destroyed the barrier that they had created around the child's mind that cut him off from the real Dreaming. He later banished the two. Once Hector Hall's ghost was sent to carry on its journey in Death
's realm, Dream freed Lyta Hall from the illusion that she was under. Dream revealed that someday he would return to take Daniel (her unborn child), as he had spent the majority of his gestation in the Dreaming and hence he rightfully belonged to Dream.
Lyta and her child returned to the waking world and she resumed her normal life but now bore a hatred for Dream whom she erroneously blamed for her husband's death. Before Dream went off to face Lucifer
, he paid another visit to the two, and named the child Daniel, a name to which Lyta took a liking.
As Daniel grew up, he started to enter the Dreaming while he was asleep. In one of the issues in Fables and Reflections
, he was regaled with stories by Cain, Abel
and Eve, while Matthew
watched. He returned to Earth clutching one of Matthew's feathers in the same issue.
Later in the Kindly Ones
saga, Lyta incorrectly believed that Daniel had been 'abducted' by Dream. She came to this conclusion because that night was the only time that she had left the child from her watch in the last three years as she had to attend a job interview. A deranged Lyta convinced herself that Dream was responsible for all the losses in her life and took her grievances to the Furies (after a long and arduous journey both in the real world and in her imagination) who told her that since Dream had killed his own blood
, they are able to exact revenge for her if she agrees to be the vehicle for their instrumentations. Lyta accepts the offer and subsequently she, with her allies, wages a war with Dream and goes about destroying his realm ultimately causing his downfall.
Daniel was in fact abducted by the Norse god Loki, who Dream had freed in exchange for an unspecified service in Season of Mists, and Robin Goodfellow. Dream earlier charged a reinstated Corinthian
to take Matthew and retrieve Daniel. The two succeed and bring Daniel back to Dream's castle wherein, before his end, Morpheus transfers his power to an Eagle Stone and has a final conversation with Daniel. After the death of this "point of view" of Dream, Daniel Hall then assumes the identity of Dream (although he is not a child anymore).
Daniel, as the new Dream, is an amalgam of a child and the entity from the Endless
who he represents. His speech is largely unchanged but it is drawn with black font on a white background (as opposed to the direct contrasting style of the former self). He is still referred to with the honorific, 'Dream of the Endless' but he does not accept the title of 'Morpheus'. In a substory in "The Wake
", he explains that he is another version of himself to Master Li (while travelling amidst the soft places). He is inexperienced in certain matters and relies on the raven, Matthew, for advice. This is similar to a number of portrayals in the Bible such as 'Daniel' relying on 'Matthew', the Raven of 'Eve'. Daniel is a gentler and more merciful lord than Morpheus as characterised by how he touches the Hippogriff guardian at his gate who confesses that his former self had never done so.
Daniel was named in accordance with Neil Gaiman
's decision to give the Endless names or titles beginning with the letter 'D', and after the Biblical prophet
who interpreted dreams. Whereas Morpheus almost always wears black, Daniel robes himself in white. Morpheus' garments also tended to be styled with a flame motif, while Daniel's are often adorned with floral patterns. Daniel is also unable to convince Fiddler's Green to return to the Dreaming but aside from this he largely recreates the entire land, including its populace, as it was before.
by Caitlin Kiernan. He appeared in Lucifer
: Nirvana, helping Lucifer track an enemy that had struck through dreamers, and in The Sandman Presents: The Furies, in which he met his mortal mother for the first time since The Wake.
Within the main DC Universe
, Daniel has made guest appearances in two issues of the JLA
(#22-23), in which he helped prevent the Earth from being taken over by Starro
, and in which he repaid the 'debt' his predecessor had owed the Justice League for help in finding his ruby. He also assured Kyle Rayner
that he had surpassed Hal Jordan
, and will continue to do so. Daniel next appeared in a handful of issues of JSA
, in which he, among other things, transferred the prophetic dreams from Wesley Dodds
to Sanderson Hawkins
. In another appearance, he prevents the time-traveling villain Degaton from tormenting his parents. Still later in the series, Daniel, in the form of a magic mirror, tells Hector Hall (reincarnated as Dr. Fate) and Lyta about Sand
, who is trapped in a dream world created, again, by Brute and Glob. Daniel brought the spirits of his mortal parents to live in the Dreaming after their deaths.
Dream Girl tells Doctor Destiny
that she foresaw his death, being tortured in his sleep by "the owner of the dreamstone".
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the Sandman comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series written by Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
and published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. An infant for the majority of the Sandman series, he is the son of Hippolyta 'Lyta' Hall
Fury (DC Comics)
Fury is the codename shared by three DC Comics superheroes, two of whom are mother and daughter, both of whom directly connected with the Furies of mythology, and the third who is an altogether different character.-Pre-Crisis:...
and Hector Hall
Hector Hall
Hector Hall was a superhero who appeared in DC Comics's Infinity, Inc., Sandman and JSA. He has gone by the names Silver Scarab, Sandman and, before his death, Dr. Fate.-Childhood:...
, borne for two years in the Dreaming
The Dreaming (comics)
The Dreaming is a fictional place, a comic book location published by DC Comics. The Dreaming first appeared in the Sandman vol. 2 #1, , and was created by Neil Gaiman and Sam Kieth. The Dreaming is the domain of Dream of the Endless....
(where the Halls were being held prisoner by Brute and Glob, two nightmares who had escaped during Dream
Dream (comics)
Dream is the fictional protagonist of DC Comics' Vertigo comic book series The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. One of the seven Endless, inconceivably powerful beings older and greater than gods, Dream is both lord and personification of all dreams and stories, all that is not in reality...
's earthly exile). Hector Hall was a perennial DC character, son of Carter Hall
Carter Hall (comics)
Carter Hall is a DC Comics superhero, the original Hawkman. Created by Gardner Fox and Dennis Neville, he first appeared in Flash Comics # 1 . The history of this character is somewhat confusing, due mainly to the fact that his origins were retroactively changed with the Crisis on Infinite Earths...
(the Golden Age Hawkman
Hawkman
Hawkman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, the original Hawkman first appeared in Flash Comics #1, published by All-American Publications in 1940....
), and has assumed many guises during his stay in the DC Universe, and was at one point the Sandman
Sandman (DC Comics)
Sandman is the name of seven fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. All are connected in one way or the other, though there are three largely dissimilar concepts, with two or three persons having served in each role various times...
and hence he inherited the same identity in Gaiman's Sandman. Lyta was the daughter of the Golden Age Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
and once a superheroine called the Fury
Fury (DC Comics)
Fury is the codename shared by three DC Comics superheroes, two of whom are mother and daughter, both of whom directly connected with the Furies of mythology, and the third who is an altogether different character.-Pre-Crisis:...
. Daniel, at the end of the Sandman series, becomes the new Dream of the Endless after the demise of his predecessor.
Fictional character history
Daniel's father, Hector, was already dead when Brute and Glob used his ghost and planned to make him the ruler of the Dreaming in Morpheus's absence. Lyta and Hector's ghost lived together in the dreams of a child, Jed WalkerJed Walker
Jed Walker is a DC Comics character. He appeared in Jack Kirby and Joe Simon's short-lived series The Sandman, where he was protected from nightmare monsters by the titular hero. He lived with his grandfather, Ezra Paulsen, a fisherman on Dolphin Island, and, after his grandfather's death, with a...
, for two years. Upon Dream's return to the Dreaming, he went looking for Brute and Glob and destroyed the barrier that they had created around the child's mind that cut him off from the real Dreaming. He later banished the two. Once Hector Hall's ghost was sent to carry on its journey in Death
Death (DC Comics)
Death is a fictional character from the DC comic book series, The Sandman . The character first appeared in The Sandman vol. 2, #8 , and was created by Neil Gaiman and Mike Dringenberg....
's realm, Dream freed Lyta Hall from the illusion that she was under. Dream revealed that someday he would return to take Daniel (her unborn child), as he had spent the majority of his gestation in the Dreaming and hence he rightfully belonged to Dream.
Lyta and her child returned to the waking world and she resumed her normal life but now bore a hatred for Dream whom she erroneously blamed for her husband's death. Before Dream went off to face Lucifer
Lucifer (DC Comics)
Lucifer is a DC Comics character that starred in an eponymous comic book published under the Vertigo imprint, whose entire run was written by Mike Carey...
, he paid another visit to the two, and named the child Daniel, a name to which Lyta took a liking.
As Daniel grew up, he started to enter the Dreaming while he was asleep. In one of the issues in Fables and Reflections
The Sandman: Fables and Reflections
Fables & Reflections is the sixth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. It was written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Bryan Talbot, Stan Woch, P...
, he was regaled with stories by Cain, Abel
Cain and Abel (comics)
Cain and Abel are a pair of fictional characters in the DC Comics universe based on the Biblical Cain and Abel. They are key figures in DC's "Mystery" line of the late 1960s and 1970s, which became the mature-readers imprint, Vertigo, in 1993....
and Eve, while Matthew
Matthew (DC Comics)
Matthew Joseph Cable is a character in DC Comics series Swamp Thing, who died and was later resurrected as Dream's raven in Neil Gaiman's rendition of The Sandman.-Swamp Thing/Doom Patrol:...
watched. He returned to Earth clutching one of Matthew's feathers in the same issue.
Later in the Kindly Ones
The Sandman: The Kindly Ones
The Kindly Ones is the ninth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Marc Hempel, Richard Case, D'Israeli, Teddy Kristiansen, Glyn Dillon, Charles Vess, Dean Ormston and Kevin Nowlan, coloured by Danny Vozzo, and lettered by Todd Klein.The...
saga, Lyta incorrectly believed that Daniel had been 'abducted' by Dream. She came to this conclusion because that night was the only time that she had left the child from her watch in the last three years as she had to attend a job interview. A deranged Lyta convinced herself that Dream was responsible for all the losses in her life and took her grievances to the Furies (after a long and arduous journey both in the real world and in her imagination) who told her that since Dream had killed his own blood
The Sandman: Brief Lives
Brief Lives is the seventh collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, penciled by Jill Thompson, inked by Vince Locke and Dick Giordano, coloured by Danny Vozzo, and lettered by Todd Klein....
, they are able to exact revenge for her if she agrees to be the vehicle for their instrumentations. Lyta accepts the offer and subsequently she, with her allies, wages a war with Dream and goes about destroying his realm ultimately causing his downfall.
Daniel was in fact abducted by the Norse god Loki, who Dream had freed in exchange for an unspecified service in Season of Mists, and Robin Goodfellow. Dream earlier charged a reinstated Corinthian
Corinthian (comics)
The Corinthian is a fictional character in Neil Gaiman's comic book series The Sandman. He can first be seen in The Sandman #10 , which is part of the second story arc, The Doll's House. The Corinthian is a nightmare created by Dream, who destroys him in the same collection for going rogue and...
to take Matthew and retrieve Daniel. The two succeed and bring Daniel back to Dream's castle wherein, before his end, Morpheus transfers his power to an Eagle Stone and has a final conversation with Daniel. After the death of this "point of view" of Dream, Daniel Hall then assumes the identity of Dream (although he is not a child anymore).
Daniel, as the new Dream, is an amalgam of a child and the entity from the Endless
Endless (comics)
The Endless are a group of beings who embody powerful forces or aspects of the universe in the DC comic book series The Sandman, by Neil Gaiman. They have existed since the dawn of time and are thought to be among the most powerful beings in the universe...
who he represents. His speech is largely unchanged but it is drawn with black font on a white background (as opposed to the direct contrasting style of the former self). He is still referred to with the honorific, 'Dream of the Endless' but he does not accept the title of 'Morpheus'. In a substory in "The Wake
The Sandman: The Wake
The Wake is the tenth and final collection of issues in the comic book series The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Michael Zulli, Jon J...
", he explains that he is another version of himself to Master Li (while travelling amidst the soft places). He is inexperienced in certain matters and relies on the raven, Matthew, for advice. This is similar to a number of portrayals in the Bible such as 'Daniel' relying on 'Matthew', the Raven of 'Eve'. Daniel is a gentler and more merciful lord than Morpheus as characterised by how he touches the Hippogriff guardian at his gate who confesses that his former self had never done so.
Daniel was named in accordance with Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
's decision to give the Endless names or titles beginning with the letter 'D', and after the Biblical prophet
Daniel
Daniel is the protagonist in the Book of Daniel of the Hebrew Bible. In the narrative, when Daniel was a young man, he was taken into Babylonian captivity where he was educated in Chaldean thought. However, he never converted to Neo-Babylonian ways...
who interpreted dreams. Whereas Morpheus almost always wears black, Daniel robes himself in white. Morpheus' garments also tended to be styled with a flame motif, while Daniel's are often adorned with floral patterns. Daniel is also unable to convince Fiddler's Green to return to the Dreaming but aside from this he largely recreates the entire land, including its populace, as it was before.
Appearances outside of The Sandman
Daniel has appeared from time to time in other Vertigo series. He was often alluded to, and infrequently appeared, in The DreamingThe Dreaming (comics)
The Dreaming is a fictional place, a comic book location published by DC Comics. The Dreaming first appeared in the Sandman vol. 2 #1, , and was created by Neil Gaiman and Sam Kieth. The Dreaming is the domain of Dream of the Endless....
by Caitlin Kiernan. He appeared in Lucifer
Lucifer (DC Comics)
Lucifer is a DC Comics character that starred in an eponymous comic book published under the Vertigo imprint, whose entire run was written by Mike Carey...
: Nirvana, helping Lucifer track an enemy that had struck through dreamers, and in The Sandman Presents: The Furies, in which he met his mortal mother for the first time since The Wake.
Within the main DC Universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
, Daniel has made guest appearances in two issues of the JLA
Justice League
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....
(#22-23), in which he helped prevent the Earth from being taken over by Starro
Starro
Starro is a fictional supervillain that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Brave and the Bold #28 , and was created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky....
, and in which he repaid the 'debt' his predecessor had owed the Justice League for help in finding his ruby. He also assured Kyle Rayner
Kyle Rayner
Kyle Rayner is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in books published by DC Comics, usually in those starring the Green Lantern Corps, an extraterrestrial police force of which Rayner is a member. Created by writer Ron Marz and artist Darryl Banks, Rayner first appeared in Green Lantern vol...
that he had surpassed Hal Jordan
Hal Jordan
Harold "Hal" Jordan is a DC Comics superhero known as Green Lantern, the first human shown to join the Green Lantern Corps and a founding member of the Justice League of America. Jordan is the second DC Comics character to adopt the Green Lantern moniker...
, and will continue to do so. Daniel next appeared in a handful of issues of JSA
Justice Society of America
The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All Star Comics #3 ....
, in which he, among other things, transferred the prophetic dreams from Wesley Dodds
Sandman (Wesley Dodds)
Sandman , is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first of several DC characters to bear the name, he was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Bert Christman....
to Sanderson Hawkins
Sandy Hawkins
Sanderson "Sandy" Hawkins, formerly known as Sandy, the Golden Boy, Sands, Sand, and currently as Sandman, is a fictional character, superhero in the DC Comics universe created by Mort Weisinger and Paul Norris. He first appeared in Adventure Comics #69.-Golden Age:The Character of Sandy the Golden...
. In another appearance, he prevents the time-traveling villain Degaton from tormenting his parents. Still later in the series, Daniel, in the form of a magic mirror, tells Hector Hall (reincarnated as Dr. Fate) and Lyta about Sand
Sandy Hawkins
Sanderson "Sandy" Hawkins, formerly known as Sandy, the Golden Boy, Sands, Sand, and currently as Sandman, is a fictional character, superhero in the DC Comics universe created by Mort Weisinger and Paul Norris. He first appeared in Adventure Comics #69.-Golden Age:The Character of Sandy the Golden...
, who is trapped in a dream world created, again, by Brute and Glob. Daniel brought the spirits of his mortal parents to live in the Dreaming after their deaths.
Dream Girl tells Doctor Destiny
Doctor Destiny
Doctor Destiny is a fictional supervillain published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Justice League of America Vol. 1 #5 , and was created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky.- Fictional character biography :...
that she foresaw his death, being tortured in his sleep by "the owner of the dreamstone".